UMass RCMC Team Takes 11th Place at International Builders Show

BCT’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) student chapter worked relentlessly through the 2017 Fall semester on their submission of the Residential Construction Management Competition (RCMC) proposal. The 26-student team broke top 11 out of 35 schools in this national competition, after presenting their project at the International Builders Show (IBS) in Orlando, FL.

The team utilized the practice rooms at the conference to master their presentation before the show.

Each year, the NAHB holds the RCMC competition, in which 2-year and 4-year college teams are given an open-ended problem statement that serves the basis of their proposal and presentation at the International Builders Show. This year’s problem statement offered a 7-lot site in Okemos, MI of which teams had to develop and assess the feasible profitability. The team decided to develop 151 houses and declared that the project would ultimately be profitable. The proposal included sections on market analysis, sales, project management, sustainability, design, finance, and estimating.

The six presenters for this year’s team after the show.

The UMass team consisted of architecture, BCT, civil, real estate, and marketing majors, and each student brought unique strengths to the table. Learning to collaborate together and manage so many people was the biggest and most rewarding challenge to many students. After submitting the proposal, 14 of the 26 traveled to Florida to prepare their 15-minute presentation, which would be given to 6 judges and an audience. The trip began with 15 practice sessions and feedback sessions for the first two days. 6 Presenters practiced timing, transitions, content, and even body posture. The practice paid off. UMass earned 11th place this year, which improved upon the previous year’s 15th. The rest of the trip included celebration, team bonding, and feedback discussions for next year’s improvements.

The UMass NAHB chapter owes a very special thanks to their new coach, professor Ho-Sung Kim, as well as the members of the HBRAWM chapter for all of their support.